Magnetic separation has been used in mineral processing for years. Generally, it is used to separate out magnetic minerals from mixtures containing non-magnetic materials. In such a separation system, a suspension of particles in a liquid is passed through a magnetisable filter constructed of magnetic wires. Near the wires, a high field gradient results in a magnetic retaining force that attracts any passing magnetisable material.
These magnetic separation techniques can be used with magnetic hemofiltration to remove from the bloodstream anything that is either intrinsically magnetic (i.e., departs significantly from the diamagnetism of normal blood and blood components) or is magnetically labelled with magnetic nanoparticles or beads that target specific blood-borne agents which are available and can be used clinically.
What is needed is a magnetic filter that is capable of extracting magnetically labeled targets in the bloodstream quickly, efficiently and at low cost.
The present invention addresses these requirements.